You don't have to spend 100 on a practice mute but your neighbours (or your children) might appreciate you having one! It might improve your breathing but it wont do anything for your tone development. Very useful for keeping your lip in ...
Re: Silent Mute 14:25 on Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Silent practice mute.
IF you need one (you travel, live in an apartment, practice late at night) they are a godsend for your neighbors. I do need one when traveling and at home ( I practice very early. I have used several and the ones I like are worth every penny if you use them regularly.
I like the Yamaha Silent Brass Mute but prefer the Best Brass Silent mute. The Best Brass Silent mute is designed by one of the members of the Yamaha design team. Quality wise they are the same but the Best brass can fit in your case where the Yamaha is bigger and does not fit in the case it is also more difficult to hold while you practice.
I do not like Jon Balu's although I like all his other mutes.
The air resistence will be a little different than playing without the mute and some say your tone can suffer. I have found the opposite. Probably because you can blow you *** off playing loud without bother people and that will help develop your muscles.
If you are only going to use it two or three times a year I would say it is too much money to spend. But if you plan on using it monthly or weekly - then yes, Because you can practice whenever you want. I can practice at 5am without waking my family.
